Nate gave a shake of his head. "That's the ironic thing. I used to take care of her all the time. I did things for her because I loved her and wanted to do them. I always carried her bags. I lifted her into the truck since it was a high step for her. I pushed the cart whenever we'd go shopping. Now she would view those same things as me taking away her independence. All because of a diagnosis."
Megan smiled ruefully. "Yes, that's kind of what's happened. I don't understand the mental side of it all that much. I've just kind of let her take the lead and let me know when she needs me to do something."
Their conversation turned to other things as they finished their meal. Megan reached for her purse, but Nate said, "I've got this. Thanks for saving me from having to eat on my own."
"You're welcome. I just wish I'd had a better reason." She slid to the edge of the booth and stood up. "Thanks for the dinner."
Nate watched her walk away, his mind going over what she'd said. When Elsa returned a few minutes later, he handed her enough money to cover both meals plus a tip and then left the café. Though she hadn't told him what he wanted to hear, perhaps it was still something he could put to use.
Because he wasn't going to give up on him and Lily just yet.
~*~*~
Though the family members weren’t able to see or hold the baby, Lance had some pictures on his phone that he showed them. Lily fought back tears when she saw the tiny little body hooked up to monitors and not where he should be. Which was in his mother's arms. Though Jessa had cried a few times during their visit, Lily knew that in the days ahead, her sister and Lance would be strong. They would stick together to do what had to be done for their little guy. And they were all very aware that it could have been so much worse. He could have had more problems than he did. For that, Lily was very grateful.
"So? You guys name the little dude yet?" Will asked from where he sat.
Tonight is was just the siblings and Lance in the room. The spouses—and Amy—had agreed to watch the children so they could go see Jessa.
Lance settled on the bed next to Jessa. "It took a little discussion, but I think we've come to an agreement."
They exchanged a look before Jessa said, "We've decided to name him Daniel Joshua."
A smile lit up Cami’s face. “Josh will be so honored.”
"Well, I am just relieved to not have to call him baby boy anymore," Violet said with a grin. "It might have stuck and then we'd probably end up with a rapper or something on our hands."
Lily was glad to see a smile on Jessa's face even if it was a small one. They didn't stay long since Lance and Jessa wanted to have a chance to see the baby again before Lance left for the night.
Violet and Laurel had brought their own cars, but Cami and Lily had come with Will. The drive home was quiet. Lily was still feeling the exhaustion the day had brought her. Shelonged for her bed and knew she wouldn't be staying up long once they got to the manor.
She saw Nate's truck in the driveway as Will pulled around to park in front of the steps. Lily slid off the seat and paused for a moment to make sure she was steady before she walked up the steps and into the manor with Cami. Nate wasn't in the kitchen, but instead of joining the others there, Lily told Cami she was going to her room.
Cami opened her mouth, closed it for a second and then said, "Sleep well. See you in the morning."
Lily hugged her, appreciating the effort she'd made to not ask her if she was okay. "Yep. See you in the morning."
She headed to the stairs but then veered to the right toward the library. It wasn't to see if Nate was there, she told herself. But that didn't explain why her heartbeat kicked up a notch when she saw him sitting at the desk. She was about to step back out of the doorway when he looked up and spotted her.
He stared for a moment, almost as if not sure she was really there. Then he smiled and said, "How was the visit with Jessa and the baby?"
"It was good." Lily ventured to the chairs on the near side of the desk. He moved the laptop over which gave her a clear view of him. "We didn't get to see the baby, but Lance had pictures. Jessa seemed a bit weepy, which isn't really like her, but completely understandable, of course."
Nate nodded. "Must be nice to have a baby in the family again."
Lily looked away from Nate. If things had gone as they'd planned, they would have had a child of their own by now. She pressed a hand to her stomach then clenched it into a fist. Though she knew many women went on to have babies after being diagnosed with MS, Lily didn't think that was a path she could take. It wasn’t the pregnancy that concerned her. In fact, it seemed that being pregnant actually reduced the number of relapses. But what if she couldn't take care ofa child the way it needed? What if the child ended up needing to care for her?
"Lily?" Nate's voice pulled her back from her dour thoughts. "Will mentioned the other day that you might be looking for a car."
A car? Right then, Lily wasn't sure she was capable of driving. Even though she'd had every intention of driving when she'd arrived back, she wasn't as confident anymore. If she recovered enough to be physically what she'd been like in London, she'd consider it more seriously. She just hoped that she didn’t need to make any trips into Minneapolis any time soon, because she was going to have to prevail upon someone to take her if she couldn't drive.
"I had thought about it. Not sure now," Lily admitted.
Nate nodded. "Well, let me know if you decide to. I have some contacts at the dealerships around here. I can keep an eye out for something."
Lily wanted to protest that she could take care of it herself, but Nate was a car man. It would be stupid to refuse his help just because. "Thank you. I was thinking something along the lines of a smaller SUV. I want something good for winter driving, but that's not too difficult to get in and out of."
"So no monster trucks?"
